#EpicRoadtrip12: Favorites

If you are connected to me in any other social media channel, follow my Twitter, friended me on Facebook, fanned my Facebook page, you probably already know that I recently went on a five state roadtrip that was of epic proportions. If you know my friend Stephanie (aka Ironstef), you may have already read her awesome recap blog post. If you are friends with my buddy Bryan (aka Cashew Chicken) you undoubtedly have already salivated over his food photos, so why add yet another blog into the mix? Well because I thought it would be cool to do a “Favorites” post. To note, at no point was I dissatisfied on this trip, but there were standouts, and I think they deserve shout-outs. So here goes.

Favorite Meal…

This was a very challenging category for me because we ate at some great places, and all offered something wonderful for my taste buds to experience; however, when I think of meal, I like to consider the entire experience, each piece, the environment, the atmosphere…all things considered I am going with Breakfast at Alterra Coffee Roasters at the Lake in Milwaukee, WI. Housed in a functioning flushing station, the building was exciting to look at, offering multiple levels and hidden alcoves. It is a coffee house, so the beautiful rich aroma of roasted and brewed coffee filled the space, and my bacon potato burrito was delicious. What may have driven it over the top were the little details, the grapes and orange slices served with my meal. The amazing iced mocha, and of course the cookie was KILLER.    

Favorite Bite…

So this is a little different. Here I am truly talking about my favorite bite, atmosphere be damned, what was the best thing that entered my mouth during this trip, and that has to be the Chorizo-Egg Torta from Xoco. I mean it’s Rick Bayless’ joint, how could it not be the best? The chorizo was flavorful and had a good texture. The eggs were fresh and cooked well, and the bread made me want to marry a baker. Add some amazing cheese, avocado, and fantastic salsa verde, and you have my favorite bite of the trip.

Favorite Flight…

During this trip we had the opportunity to visit 12 breweries (note, we were unable to taste any beers at Surly or Summit, so we drank at 10 breweries). In almost all cases we did a flight which usually consists of a 3 to 4oz pour of five to six beers which allows you to sample several of the brewery's creations without leaving bloated and wasted. Some of you may prefer the latter, but when you are doing 10 in 5 days, you have to pace yourself. My favorite flight was from the Milwaukee Brewing Company.  It would be fair to say that I prefer malt over hop and barley, and the flight I did at the Ale House had an excellent amber ale, Louie’s Demise, and a pretty magical milk stout called Polish Moon. Those coupled with a nice I.P.A, wheat, and some light ales, and you have my favorite flight.

Favorite Beer…

Of all the categories, this was the easiest for me, New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red, hands down, was my favorite beer of the trip. Leading up to New Glarus, seemed like every time someone would mention the brewery, Steph would chime in about some cherry beer that everyone loves. I am a fan of cherries, so naturally I was looking forward to it. However, nothing had prepared me for this beer because it isn’t like a beer. It isn’t like a wine. It’s not even like a cider. It can only be described as delicious or, if you will humor me, yummy. I brought eight bottles back, if that gives you any indication of what I thought about the Wisconsin Belgian Red. 

Now we are turning from things that went in my mouth to things that went in my ear. This roadtrip was based on our desire to see Glen Hansard. All three of us are big fans of the Swell Season and the Frames, so seeing Hansard solo would be a real treat, problem was he was not coming to St. Louis (or so we thought at the time. He has since scheduled a show here in September. Yeah, I’ll be going to that too), but he was coming to Chicago…that’s close! But, it was on a Tuesday. Suckage!!! Well, let’s make a roadtrip of it! As a result, we also got to see Lisa Hannigan (of Damien Rice fame), who opened for Hansard. Then in Minneapolis, we decided to catch The Lighthouse and the Whaler, as well as the opener, Black Church Service. 

Favorite Performance…

This is a no brainer, right? Wrong. My favorite performance was not Glen Hansard, although he was amazing. But, I have seen him be amazing several times at better venues. I was not a huge fan of the Vic. Some of that was our fault. We didn’t know how early to get there. We didn’t know if we should get seats up-top or stand on the lower-floor. So we ended up grabbing seats up-top, and I think we all regretted it. There is a certain amount of disconnect that happens when you are in the balcony, and while his energy was enough to produce an amazing performance, the disconnect caused it to not be special. What was special was seeing Black Church Service at 7thSt Entry. Here is a band that I knew nothing about, opening for the opener, to a sparsely filled room, and they threw down like they were playing the Garden, just straight-up garage rock with conscious tone and a solid rhythm section. No hipster-social switching of instruments, no multiple drummers banging several floor toms, no keys anywhere near the stage, just straight-up two guitars, one bass, one drummer, four piece rock...just dudes that were determined to melt faces and get laid, as rock-n-roll intended.

There are a few other comfort factors that are important to address while on a roadtrip, so I thought I’d pick my favorites of those too. They are a bit random, but trust me their presence is imperative to a successful roatrip.

Favorite Stretch of Road…

For those that have been watching the temperatures out here in the Midwest, St. Louis has had a series of three digit temperature days that is record breaking. Luckily, we left home at the perfect time and managed to stay a day ahead of the serious heat during our roadtrip. When it got seriously hot in Chicago, we moved to Milwaukee, and when Milwaukee started warming up, we moved up to Minneapolis. The stretch from New Glarus, WI to Minneapolis was amazing. It was 84 and dry, windows were down, and there was lush greenery for us to daydream into.

Favorite Bed…

My back felt three beds while on this roadtrip. None of them were horrible, but none of them felt as good as my Simmons at home. If I had to pick one, I’d go with the bed at the Double Tree in Chicago. It was firm and appeared to be clean, as did the rest of the room. Sadly the same cannot be said for other areas of the hotel. 

Favorite Lobby Bathrooms…

As a touring musician, you grow to appreciate a good, clean, bathroom. Typically, your best bathroom options, when sharing a room, are going to be museums or hotel lobbies. There is an unspoken (actually sometimes spoken) rule that if you are on tour or a roadtrip and sharing a room, at no point, can the bathroom in the room be used to do work. The rule can be broken for three occasions. 1) You get sick. No one wants to see someone shit themselves. So if you cannot make it to the lobby due to some stomach bug, then you are granted permission to break the rule. 2) You have known the person you are rooming with for more than 10 sequential years, not like two years in school, eight years apart, a year of catch-up on Facebook, and then a reunion. After ten years of constant contact you are more like family, so poop away! 3) You are rooming with a member of your band. By virtue of being in a band together, you are family. Since none of the three rules applied, we focused our attentions on the lobby stalls. Bryan and I agree, the lobby bathroom at Crowne Plaza in Milwaukee was our favorite: clean, roomy stalls, dimly lit, and well ventilated.     

Well there you have it my favorites from #EpicRoadtrip12.